Intro. to English - Newsletter One

Hello Parents!

I am one of your child's teachers for "Introduction to English." This year, we are trying an innovative new approach for many of our freshmen. Our goal is to give them a dramatic, significant boost in their reading skills to make them more successful in high school and in their lives beyond.

For first and second periods, Ms. Poole and I have our students for half the period each day, and then we switch. During third period, Ms. Shirk and I do the same thing with our classes. As a result, I get to teach all 110 of the students who have yearlong English at our high school. That is an overwhelming responsibility, and I do not take it lightly.

I can hardly contain my excitement when I tell you that things are going extremely well so far! My "mantra" that is guiding my instruction is that every day, students in my class will Read, Write, Speak, and THINK!

Ms. Poole, Ms. Shirk and I are coordinating our efforts so that our lessons go hand-in-hand to give your child the best possible education in the area of language arts. This first 90-day semester is centered around foundational skills in reading and writing fluency, grammar instruction, vocabulary development, research and analysis, and study skills. Ms. Poole has lined up an array of guest speakers this unit to broaden our students' awareness of career opportunities. Our aim is that they set some goals to guide their education here at LSHS.

We want to keep communication lines open, so we are available if you should ever have any questions. You can email us at splaster@lexcs.org, dapoole@lexcs.org, or ashirk@lexcs.org, or call the school at 336-242-1574. If you're receiving this newsletter on paper and would like to get it directly in your "inbox," you can go to my website at http://mrplastersclass.com and sign up. Just find the box that says "Get Email Updates."

Again, let's all stand behind our children as they enter this new chapter in their lives. High school is a time for them to get and stay on the right track academically. We have a strong team of teachers and staff at our high school who are working together to help make that reality happen for our children.

Sincerely,

Scott Plaster
Reading Specialist
Lexington Senior High School

Tuesday's Lesson: All About You

Here are some resources that might be useful for our class on Tuesday:

1. 35 Things that make you Unique
2. Interesting: You are One in a Ten Billion!! READ

Our Vocabulary List One:

1) civ-ic A- Having to do with the city, like a public place;

(adjective) OR – having to do with our duties as citizens

B-We went to the civic center to watch the play.

C- It is a part of our __________ responsibility to vote.

2) mu-nic-i-pal A- similar to “civic”

(adjective) B- We played at the public, municipal golf course.

C- The ______________ building downtown is closed on holidays.

3) gov-ern-ment A- A group of people who make laws and control a place (country or city)

(adjective or noun) B- My brother has a government job for the city.

C- ____________________________________________________

4) e-lec-ted of-fi-cial A- a person we vote for, like the mayor, governor, or school board

B- It is the duty of our elected officials to serve the public.

C-

5-7) <---du-ty------------ob-lig-a-tion------------------re-spon-sib-il-i-ty--------->

A- A “duty” is something that you have naturally, like your duty as a citizen. An “obligation” is something “acquired,” like if you owe something because of a choice you made. You need to do a “duty” and it is usually something positive. An “obligation” is sometimes something someone TELLS you to do.

B- A responsibility is something that you may or may not do. A duty is something that you feel that you ALWAYS have to do. A person may have many responsibilities, and you usually do your best to fulfill them.

List some examples of “duties”: _________________________________________________

List some examples of “responsibilities”: _____________________________________________

8) en-tre-pre-neur (noun) A- someone who invests money in a business to make more money

entrepreneurial (adjective) B-One of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time is Donald Trump.

C- _______________________________________________________

9) bus-in-ess Uses: He is a successful business man.

The new store is now open for business.

That information is none of your business.

What do you think “business” means? ____________________________________________

10-23) hope, dream, goal, as-pir-a-tion, to “aspire to”,

What is the difference between a “dream” and a “goal” ?

___________________________________________________________

Synonym set A (nouns): aim, am-bit-ion, vo-ca-tion, en-deav-or, in-clin-a-tion, ob-jec-tive

Synonym set B (nouns): hope, dream, urge, yearn-ing, long-ing, pas-sion

Try some:

One ___________________ of mine is to become a ____________________.

What is the difference between Set A and Set B above?

___________________________________________________________

24-25) <<<---job----------car-eer-------------------vo-ca-tion------>>

What is the difference between these three?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Welcome, Students and Parents!

Welcome and Hello!

We're starting a brand new school year and I'm excited to be here for another year at Lexington Senior High School. So many things have changed for my school year: I just officially moved to the town of Lexington, I changed classrooms from the blue hall to the annex, I am now serving as the English department Chair, and Ms. Poole and I are starting a new program with Freshman English -- so many changes and all of them exciting!

Please check out the links above to learn about my Introduction to English classes, the Chess Club, and Scholastic competition at LSHS.

Let's have a great year this year at LSHS as we MAKE HISTORY!

---Mr. Plaster

Parent Letter for English I

Parents:

Your son or daughter is in my "English I" class this semester. I am excited about the new semester and I know that you are, too. I am proud to be teaching at Lexington Senior High School and have high expectations and goals for the class and for your child.

Most students in my classes were also selected to be in an Introduction to English class last semester based on their performance on the EOG and other tests and how they did in their past English classes. Students in Introduction to English had that first semester to prepare them for English I this Spring, and they should now be as ready as the rest of their classmates.

Please review the Course Syllabus with your child, which I have discussed with the class. I would like you to review it, particularly to note 1) class rules, 2) the types of assignments students will be given, and 3) the materials needed for class.

I have a class website that will be a very useful tool to help us communicate about class, post assignments and reminders, and use to link to learning resources.

I also wanted you to know that I believe in communicating regularly with the parents of my students. An easy way for me to do that is through e-mail, so if you are reading this online, please go to my home page and submit your email address on the right hand side under "Get Email Updates." That way, you will get automatic email updates when I add something to the website.

This is my eighth year as a public school teacher and my fourth at LSHS. You can read more about me and my background on my About page at http://mrplastersclass.blogspot.com/p/about-mr-plaster.html.

If there is anything I can do to be of assistance, please let me know. Don’t hesitate to contact me at school (336.242.1574) or e-mail at splaster@lexcs.org. Please sign and return this letter with your child by Monday, January 28. Alternately, you can email me to let me know that you have received this information.


Sincerely,

S. Plaster

Parent Email Address:

Parent Signature:

Student Name: